Taiwan News Quick Take

Staff writer, with CNA

CULTURE

Local films in Dallas festival

Five Taiwanese films will be screened at the 12th Annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas, which opens on Thursday, the Ministry of Culture said. The films include the romantic comedy Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (明天記得愛上我), the inspirational sports film Step Back To Glory (志氣), the drama Finding Anthony (公主與王子) about socially marginalized youth, and Ye-Zai (椰仔), about bounty hunters for illegal immigrants, the ministry said. The documentary Go Grandriders (不老騎士), which portrays the story of 17 octogenarians who undertook a 1,178km trip around Taiwan by motorcycle, will also be shown. The Taiwanese movies will be among about 40 feature films, animations, documentaries and short films to be showcased at the festival, which will run until July 18. The festival, launched in 2002, has grown to become the largest showcase of Asian and Asian American cinema in the southern US.

CULTURE

PTS to show Lee’s films

The Public Television Service (PTS) will show a retrospective of films featuring theater director and actor Hugh Lee (李國修) over the next two weeks to commemorate his death on Tuesday at the age of 57. Part one of the 2011 documentary Lanlin Theatre Troupe (蘭陵劇坊), about Taiwan’s first theater group, founded in 1979, of which Lee was an influential member, will be aired on Sunday, PTS said. The second part will be shown on July 14, the station said. The documentary includes interviews with Lee and other members of the group. Lee, who founded the Ping-Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班) in 1986, died in Taichung after battling cancer for three years. He is considered one of the most prolific figures in contemporary Taiwanese theater.

GOVERNMENT

Control Yuan head impeached

Control Yuan members impeached Control Yuan Secretary-General Chen Feng-yi (陳豐義) in a 6-to-4 vote yesterday for destroying documents in violation of the Archives Act (檔案法). It is the first time the government watchdog has impeached one of its own secretaries-generals. Control Yuan member Ma Yi-kung (馬以工) said Chen did not abide by the Archives Act when destroying the documents, describing the act as “gross neglect of duty.” Another member, Lee Ful-dien (李復甸), said that Chen destroyed piles of Control Yuan documents. This caused the loss of many paper records of Control Yuan investigations, Lee added. Temporary records should not be destroyed before the expiration of their retention period or contrary to the procedures stipulated in the relevant regulations, according to the act.

CULTURE

Japanese star arrives

Fans thronged the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday to welcome Japanese singer-songwriter-actor Masaharu Fukuyama, who has been invited to present an award at the Golden Melody Awards tomorrow. Fukuyama waved to his fans, some of whom had come from Japan just to get a close-up glimpse of their idol at the airport. Fukuyama is the first Japanese male singer to have held concerts for 10 consecutive days at the Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center, drawing a record crowd of 180,000. He also holds the record for the highest number of top-selling EPs among Japanese male singers.

ENVIRONMENT

Cleanup campaign to be held

A monthly coastal cleanup campaign will take place during the latter half of this year to encourage the public to get involved in environmental protection efforts, the organizer said yesterday. The Taiwan Environmental Information Association said the idea is to teach people about what is happening to their surroundings so that proper environmental measures can be taken. During the cleanup at New Taipei City’s (新北市) Jinshan beach, participants will be able to observe the debris on the beach. The campaign could also help the authorities keep a closer eye on the make-up of the trash washed up on the beach and come up with solutions to littering problems. In a similar cleanup event held last month, 22 volunteers collected 160.5kg of trash, according to the association. Those who are interested in the event can go to http://ecowh.blogspot.tw/2013/06/2013-jinshan-coastal-cleanup.html.